]]>AUGUSTA — A Superior Court judge has overturned Secretary of State Matt Dunlap’s ruling that a citizen petition for a referendum to legalize recreational marijuana in Maine was invalid. Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy made the decision in a 26-page ruling issued Friday. She ruled that Dunlap “committed an error of law by applying a vague, subjective and/or unduly burdensome interpretation” of the law. She wrote that variations in signatures are understandable, given how citizen petitions are conducted. Murphy’s decision puts the question back on track to appear on the November state ballot. Dunlap now will have time to take a fresh look at the signatures to determine whether petitioners submitted enough valid ones to qualify for ballot placement. (read more at the Lewiston Sun Journal)

]]>Marijuana Legalization Activist Desperately Trying to Remember if He Already Signed the Petition 9 Minutes Agohttp://rumfordmeteor.com/marijuana-legalization-activist-desperately-trying-to-remember-if-he-already-signed-the-petition-9-minutes-ago/
Mon, 17 Aug 2015 12:58:06 +0000http://rumfordmeteor.com/?p=14530PORTLAND, Maine — The conflict between two groups seeking to place recreational marijuana legalization questions on the 2016 state ballot continues to deepen as signature-gatherers take to the streets. After months of negotiations — which...

]]>PORTLAND, Maine — The conflict between two groups seeking to place recreational marijuana legalization questions on the 2016 state ballot continues to deepen as signature-gatherers take to the streets. After months of negotiations — which the leader of one of the groups characterized as a sham — failed to achieve a compromise, animosity between Legalize Maine and the Marijuana Policy Project made its way to the streets and storefronts of Portland, as the two organizations each work to gather more than 60,000 signatures required to place their questions on the November 2016 ballot. The president of Legalize Maine, Paul McCarrier said the Marijuana Policy Project and its local affiliate, Regulate Maine, are resorting to Washington-style political tactics that include spreading misinformation, vague threats and bad talking when interacting with his group. (read more at the Bangor Daily News)

]]>Medical Marijuana Proponents Says We Left This England Place ’cause It Was Bogus, So If We Don’t Get Some Cool Rules Ourselves – Pronto – We’ll Just Be Bogus Too!http://rumfordmeteor.com/medical-marijuana-proponents-says-we-left-this-england-place-cause-it-was-bogus-so-if-we-dont-get-some-cool-rules-ourselves-pronto-well-just-be-bogus-too/
Tue, 28 Apr 2015 15:50:24 +0000http://rumfordmeteor.com/?p=13195AUGUSTA, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — A growing number of parents say medical marijuana is a life saving treatment for their sick children and they won’t stop fighting until it can be legally used in Maine...

]]>AUGUSTA, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — A growing number of parents say medical marijuana is a life saving treatment for their sick children and they won’t stop fighting until it can be legally used in Maine hospitals, the very place they say their children it the most. Hospital officials said allowing patients to use medical marijuana within their walls jeopardizes federal certifications and funding. It’s a controversial issue that is currently being debated by state lawmakers this session in Augusta. (read more at WCSH)

]]>Medical Marijuana Activists Confused as Maine Starts Regulating Marijuana Like Medicine. They Thought They Could Just Grow it Out by the Cement Pondhttp://rumfordmeteor.com/medical-marijuana-activists-confused-when-maine-starts-regulating-their-marijuana-like-medicine-they-thought-they-could-just-grow-it-out-by-the-cement-pond/
Sat, 11 Apr 2015 13:40:35 +0000http://rumfordmeteor.com/?p=13091It’s become apparent that there’s a cloud over Maine’s medical marijuana program – and it’s not the air around the patients who are consuming the drug. Rather, it’s unclear who has the authority to inspect...

]]>It’s become apparent that there’s a cloud over Maine’s medical marijuana program – and it’s not the air around the patients who are consuming the drug. Rather, it’s unclear who has the authority to inspect the hundreds of caregivers authorized to grow the plant for patients in Maine. What’s making this subject a hot issue is the state’s recent decision to contract out caregiver inspections to former police officers working for a nonprofit organization. Inspections are a legitimate way to ensure that a plant grown for medicinal purposes isn’t getting into the wrong hands. But the program that’s been created is not a long-term solution, and state lawmakers are wisely taking the opportunity to use the legislative process to develop a more substantive approach. Four part-time employees of the nonprofit Maine Sheriffs’ Association have been doing caregiver compliance checks since the Maine Department of Health and Human Services signed a contract with the group March 1. (read more at MaineDispensaries.com)

]]>Electrician Fined for Wiring a Stripmall Marijuana Farm Without a Valid Electrician’s License. Later He’ll Visit a Land Where Everyone’s Short, and Then Another Where Everyone’s Tallhttp://rumfordmeteor.com/waterville-electrician-fined-8250-for-wiring-a-marijuana-farm-without-a-license-later-hell-visit-a-land-where-everyones-tall-and-then-another-where-everyones-short/
Thu, 09 Apr 2015 12:31:05 +0000http://rumfordmeteor.com/?p=13072GARDINER, Maine — A Waterville man has been ordered to pay penalties of $8,250 for electrical work he did last year for a marijuana-growing facility in a Fairfield strip mall, the Maine Department of Professional...

]]>GARDINER, Maine — A Waterville man has been ordered to pay penalties of $8,250 for electrical work he did last year for a marijuana-growing facility in a Fairfield strip mall, the Maine Department of Professional and Financial Regulation said Wednesday. Craig Shores was found on March 20 by the Electricians’ Examining Board to have violated laws that prohibit doing electrical work without a license. His work presented a threat to public safety and property, the board found. The board found that Shores, whose license was suspended in 2009 after 65 code violations were found at a house he’d worked on in Belgrade, had been working for more than five years without a license. The work in Fairfield was described as “haphazard, messy and dangerous” by a state electrical inspector. The inspector also found that Shores’ shoddy work created “a serious fire hazard.” (read more at the Bangor Daily News)

]]>Snoop Dogg Expected To Hit The Streets Of Portland This Summer With His ‘Will Mumble For Cristal’ Signhttp://rumfordmeteor.com/snoop-dogg-expected-hit-streets-portland-summer-will-mumble-cristal-sign/
Wed, 04 Jun 2014 13:41:26 +0000http://rumfordmeteor.com/?p=11583Iconic rapper and musician Snoop Dogg will make a Maine appearance this summer, when he takes the stage at the Portland Expo on Thursday, July 10. Snoop Dogg — also known as Snoop Lion, when...

]]>Iconic rapper and musician Snoop Dogg will make a Maine appearance this summer, when he takes the stage at the Portland Expo on Thursday, July 10. Snoop Dogg — also known as Snoop Lion, when he’s in a reggae mood — last played in Maine in 2012. Tickets for his show, part of the Machias Savings Bank concert series and produced by Waterfront Concerts, go on sale at noon this Friday, June 6, via Ticketmaster. Snoop Dogg has sold more than 30 million records worldwide and has been nominated for multiple Grammys. Since 1993, he has released twelve albums and collaborated with artists across all genres of music. His seminal album “Doggystyle” debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart and sold over 800,000 copies in the first week. (read more at the Bangor Daily News)

]]>Only Caribbean Person At Sugarloaf Reggae Festival Looks At The Crowd Through The Kitchen Window Near The Sinkhttp://rumfordmeteor.com/caribbean-person-sugarloaf-reggae-festival-looks-crowd-kitchen-window-near-sink/
Mon, 14 Apr 2014 13:34:24 +0000http://rumfordmeteor.com/?p=11399CARRABASSETT VALLEY — Maine’s biggest cure for spring fever was underway Saturday during Sugarloaf’s 26th annual Reggae Festival. It was a scene in which three bananas and a chicken drank beer with a Gumby. The...

]]>CARRABASSETT VALLEY — Maine’s biggest cure for spring fever was underway Saturday during Sugarloaf’s 26th annual Reggae Festival. It was a scene in which three bananas and a chicken drank beer with a Gumby. The ski resort celebrating spring to the beat of Caribbean music got a boost from warm and sunny weather. “People just need this,” said Jacob Martinsen of Boston. “It’s been a long, cold, brutal winter and this is just what we needed: some sun, some friends — some fun.” Soft snow, spring skiing and riding and plenty of music, sunshine and an eclectic cast of characters from across New England and the world made memorable moments for many. University of Maine students Samantha Harrington and Madeline Mazjanis stopped dancing long enough to shoot a “selfie” with the crowd in the background. The pair and their friends said they came to celebrate the change of seasons and the snow. Chet Jordan, 23, said he’s been coming to the resort’s annual reggae festival since before he could walk. “My mom would bring me up here in my sled,” he said. (read more at the Lewiston Sun Journal)

]]>Cumberland Votes to Allow Marijuana Sales in One Area of Town. In Addition to the High School Parking Lot, of Coursehttp://rumfordmeteor.com/cumberland-votes-to-allow-marijuana-sales-in-one-area-of-town-in-addition-to-the-high-school-parking-lot-of-course/
Wed, 12 Feb 2014 12:30:50 +0000http://rumfordmeteor.com/?p=11024CUMBERLAND — The Town Council voted unanimously Monday to allow registered medical marijuana dispensaries in part of town. The town code will be amended to allow dispensaries as a permitted use in the Office Commercial...

]]>CUMBERLAND — The Town Council voted unanimously Monday to allow registered medical marijuana dispensaries in part of town. The town code will be amended to allow dispensaries as a permitted use in the Office Commercial North district, which follows U.S. Route 1 from the Tuttle Road ramp north to the Yarmouth town line. Medical marijuana dispensaries have been allowed in Maine since 2009. Eight districts were created, and Cumberland is part of the district that includes Cumberland County. Wellness Connection of Maine, based in Portland, is the registered dispensary for the district. Cumberland is pursuing a proactive approach to dispensaries by designating an area for the use, as opposed to having to react to an application, Town Manager Bill Shane said. (read more at The Forecaster)

]]>AUGUSTA — Lawmakers from opposite ends of the political spectrum unveiled a bill Thursday that would give Mainers the chance to legalize marijuana for recreational use. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Diane Russell, D-Portland, and co-sponsored by Rep. Aaron Libby, R-Waterboro, would make vast changes in Maine’s drug law, ranging from making possession of up to 2.5 ounces of pot legal to imposing a tax of $50 per ounce. Russell and others argued during a news conference Thursday afternoon at the State House that laws against marijuana have enmeshed too many nonviolent offenders in the legal system and deprived government coffers of millions of dollars in revenue. (read more at The Forecaster)

]]>The World Didn’t End Yesterday, So You Probably Should Have Paid Your Cable Bill After Allhttp://rumfordmeteor.com/the-world-didnt-end-yesterday-so-you-probably-should-have-paid-your-cable-bill-after-all/
Fri, 21 Dec 2012 14:00:42 +0000http://rumfordmeteor.com/?p=9006MERIDA, Mexico — Doomsday hour is here, at least in much of the world, and so still are we. According to legend, the ancient Mayans’ long-count calendar ends at midnight Thursday, ushering in the end...

]]>MERIDA, Mexico — Doomsday hour is here, at least in much of the world, and so still are we. According to legend, the ancient Mayans’ long-count calendar ends at midnight Thursday, ushering in the end of the world. Didn’t happen. “This is not the end of the world. This is the beginning of the new world,” Star Johnsen-Moser, an American seer, said at a gathering of hundreds of spiritualists at a convention center in the Yucatan city of Merida, an hour and a half from the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza. “It is most important that we hold a positive, beautiful reality for ourselves and our planet. … Fear is out of place.” As the appointed time came and went in several parts of the world, there was no sign of the apocalypse. (read more at Lewiston Sun Journal)